


i dreamed in shapes and thoughts and you were form and song

by littlesaintmick



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Smut, follow up to that first fic with them, this is mostly just tommaso experiencing healthy emotions for like the first time ever, tim bottoms tommaso tops you know the drill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:06:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29231250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlesaintmick/pseuds/littlesaintmick
Summary: another night and another moment and another step forward.
Relationships: Tommaso Ciampa/Timothy Thatcher
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	i dreamed in shapes and thoughts and you were form and song

Tommaso hadn’t known Tim for long, but damned if he had ever seen Tim smile this much. Back when they first met-years ago, when Tommaso had only just gotten his contract with WWE, when Tim was a champion, Tim hadn’t really smiled a lot. He did sometimes in the ring, when he got to be brutal or when he got hooked up with someone who wrestled him the way he liked. But now he was just...happy. 

They’d been spending more time together than not ever since the fight pit, and ever since they decided that there was something a little different than friendship happening between them. Neither man was calling it a ‘relationship’, they weren’t ‘dating’, but they were together, somehow. Tim had relaxed fully around him, enough to talk to him openly-and once he’d done that, Tommaso realized how much Tim actually did like to talk. Apparently he just had to like you to do so. 

Tommaso liked that Tim liked him. Tommaso wasn’t liked by a lot of people. 

Tommaso had mostly spent time at Tim’s apartment when they weren’t at the CWC. He and Tim liked to sit together and read, and sometimes Tim would put in his headphones and listen to music; he coped with the world by doing that. 

He had a lot to cope with. 

Tommaso watched as Tim changed from his gear into his go-home clothes, the familiar grey-navy pants and a plain tshirt, and his wrestling boots-he didn’t have many clothes or many shoes or many anything, other than books. Tommaso tried not to think about how he was smiling, just watching Tim. 

He reached out and grabbed Tim’s hand, linking their fingers together as they walked out of the locker room. Tim’s eyes went wide and he looked around, seeing if anyone was near them. 

“Don’t worry.”

Tim blushed, his high cheekbones turning pink. 

“Hard not to.”

Tommaso didn’t blame him for the concern. He knew how it was. He wouldn’t let anything happen to Tim, and he hoped Tim knew that. 

The unfortunate thing about Tommaso was that when he developed feelings for someone, it tended to be a ‘fall hard and fall fast’ kind of deal, and he was trying desperately to avoid that with Tim. Not because he disliked the idea of something serious there, but because if there was something brewing, he didn’t want to mess it up. Tommaso tended to mess things up.

When he saw Tim glancing down at their joined hands, a soft smile on his blushing face as he shyly turned away...he couldn’t mess this up. He couldn’t do that to Tim.

Tommaso hoped that showed some maturity on his part. 

They got into Tommaso’s car, and Tim got in the driver’s seat-insisting that Tommaso had taken too many bumps to his neck,  _ ‘I don’t want you to be stressed on the road’ _ , and that had felt too nice. Too good. Too caring. Tommaso was constantly impressed with how well-adjusted Tim was. 

“Let’s go to my house.”

Tim glanced at him.

“Okay.”

Tim hadn’t been to Tommaso’s house yet. Tommaso couldn’t tell you why; it had never come up. He assumed Tim was happy to be in his own space that he was used to, but there was a nagging feeling at the back of Tommaso’s neck saying that he was trying to be invulnerable again. 

Maybe that was just from being dropped on his head earlier. 

He should really smack Adam Cole upside the head one of these days. 

Tim drove them home and Tommaso kept his eyes closed on the ride, neither of them speaking. That’s what Tommaso liked in a relationship-not that this was that-he liked to be able to be quiet with someone one moment and talk their head off another. He only opened his eyes when he felt Tim’s hand squeeze his thigh. 

“Hey-we’re here.”

His voice was quiet and soft and Tommaso smiled. 

It was weird to be happy again.

He’d been drifting a bit, since Johnny. Tommaso had internalized a feeling of ‘we’ll get back together someday’ for so long after they broke up, a hope in his heart that someday he and Johnny would...that something would change, but it didn’t happen. Even when he and Johnny had crossed paths (in the ring or otherwise), there was nothing but a somewhat-genial acknowledgement of the other’s existence. He didn’t think he’d ever really stop loving Johnny, and it did hurt-it did hurt a little to see him move on so fully and so easily. 

Tommaso unlocked the door and felt the warm presence of Tim behind him. 

It hadn’t been as easy for him. 

Tommaso went immediately to the bedroom and pulled his shirt off, sitting on the edge of the bed and leaning forward, resting his head in his hands.

“Is your neck hurting?”

Tim’s voice was still soft, laced with concern, and Tim sighed. 

“Yeah. Some of those spots-never gets easier.”

“What-”

He could hear Tim swallow. 

“What helps?”

Tommaso looked up at him. He was standing in the doorway, just past it, because he was too goddamn tall to really comfortably stay in a doorway. 

“I have painkillers in the bathroom.”

Tim went and got the bottle of pills and Tommaso heard him going through the kitchen, and then he was back in front of him, two pills in his hand and a glass of water. Tommaso took them and swallowed and sighed, rubbing his hand over his forehead. 

“Is there anything else that helps?”

“Rest. Think I’m out of commission for a few days.”

Tim kneeled in front of him, and Tommaso smiled. Tim was really beautiful. 

“I could help you relax.”

There was a little bright spark in Tim’s eyes and Tommaso’s smile widened. He spread his knees and leaned back on his hands. 

“Go right ahead.”

Tim bit his lip against a smile and scooted forward, reaching out and unbuttoning and unzipping Tommaso’s shorts. He ran one hand up and down over Tommaso’s chest, and Tommaso could already feel the pain relief kicking in. Tim pulled Tommaso’s cock out of his boxers and stroked it a few times, his long, rough fingers holding him gently and moving just fast enough to get him hard. Tommaso watched, and Tim leaned forward, wrapping his lips around Tommaso’s cock. Tommaso groaned and brought one hand up to pet at Tim’s hair. 

“Fuck-that’s it, baby-that’s it-”

Tim was very focused, he always was when he did this, his eyes shut and brow furrowed as he licked and sucked on Tommaso’s cock, working it down his throat-he couldn’t get it all the way, but Tommaso loved watching his little mouth stretch around him. He  _ really  _ liked Tim’s mouth. He petted over Tim’s hair, letting his body relax. Tim wrapped his fingers around what he couldn’t get in his mouth, pumping his hand back and forth. Tommaso stroked his fingers through Tim’s hair again and again, enjoying the feeling of a hot mouth on his cock and the painkillers kicking in. 

“Good-good boy, my good boy-just like that-tighten that mouth up, baby-”

Tim moaned around him, sucking harder, doing as he was told. He was so obedient, and Tommaso liked that he never felt like it was forced. Tim just liked to be told what to do. Tommaso patted him on the cheek, and Tim looked up at him, his mouth full of cock, and Tommaso almost came just from that. 

“Want me to finish in your mouth?”

Tim hummed and nodded as best he could, doubling down on pushing Tommaso’s cock into his throat. Tommaso worked his hips up, rocking them, not moving too harshly. He didn’t want to overwhelm Tim. He tightened his grip on Tim’s hair, felt the tip of his cock nudging at the back of Tim’s throat, and he groaned, coming when Tim’s teeth grazed the top of his cock. They’d agreed to not use protection while they were together-it’s not like either of them had plans to be with anyone else for the foreseeable future. Tim swallowed carefully, pulling off and coughing into his hand. Tommaso hooked two fingers in Tim’s mouth and tugged him closer. 

“Open.”

Tim opened his mouth, those big brown eyes a little wet as he looked up at Tommaso. Tommaso stroked his fingertips over the roof of Tim’s mouth and his tongue, making sure he swallowed all of his come. 

“Close.”

He smiled when Tim wrapped his lips around his fingers and sucked, his hands coming up to hold onto Tommaso’s wrist. He leaned his head on Tommaso’s thigh, and he gently petted Tim, the two of them savoring the moment. 

“Wanna go to bed?”

Tim let go of his hand and sighed, nuzzling Tommaso’s leg. 

“Should eat first.”

“I can make something.”

“No-I will, you should rest.”

Tommaso, in the past, would have fought against that, insisted that he was fine, insisted that he could do it. He didn’t like to be taken care of. 

“Okay. Fridge is full. I’m not picky.”

Tim smiled up at him and-oh, wow. The way his gapped tooth just barely peeked through, the way his eyes were bright and clear and his lips were slightly reddened; he truly was a beautiful man. Tommaso had to lean down and kiss him, cupping Tim’s jaw in his hands to keep him right where he wanted him for a deep, deep kiss. He  _ had  _ to. When he pulled away, Tim looked pleasantly and happily dazed. 

“Gonna knock me off my feet with that, Tommaso.”   
Tommaso laughed-a real laugh, it was still so unusual for him-and Tim stood up, stretching his beautifully long limbs and sighing. He looked at Tommaso for a moment before he pressed a kiss to the top of his head. 

“Lay down. I’ll make something to eat.”

Tommaso...did. He laid down and grabbed the remote-he didn’t watch much tv but he did sometimes, and he knew Tim didn’t watch much (though Tommaso found it funny that he watched those Japanese cartoons, of all things), but he figured some documentaries would be palatable. He stripped to his boxers, laying on the bed and letting his eyes slip shut. He felt calm. Even. Comfortable. It had taken him two years before he really fell asleep before or around Johnny. 

A dip on the bed next to him and a quiet voice broke him out of his thoughts.

“Tired?”

Tommaso nodded, blinking one eye open to look at Tim, and the two plates of food he’d brought in. Nothing fancy. It didn’t have to be. They ate and watched fields of grass and big blue oceans on the screen and Tommaso picked a cherry tomato off of his plate and held it up to Tim’s lips, smiling as he rolled his eyes, but took the offered food. Tommaso felt a little exhausted, but it wasn’t unpleasant; the pain in his neck had dulled to a slight ache, and he blinked when Tim took his empty plate to the kitchen. Then Tim was back in bed with him, wearing nothing but his underwear, and he snuggled right up against Tommaso, the tip of his nose nuzzling against Tommaso’s ear. Tommaso turned his head just enough to bump his nose against Tim’s, to press their lips together in a tired, contented kiss. 

Tim smiled against Tommaso’s mouth. Tommaso kissed him deeper. 

He let one hand drift between them, palming at the bulge in Tim’s boxers. He wasn’t hard, but Tommaso wanted him to be. Tim gasped and put his hands on Tommaso’s chest; not to stop him, he just...touched him. 

“Hey-hey, you don’t have to-”

Tommaso grinned, squeezing at Tim’s cock. 

“I’m not planning on doing the gruntwork here.”

Tim raised an eyebrow at him, smiling that ridiculously charming smile with that one pronounced dimple.

“Oh, my mistake.”

He kissed Tommaso and gently pushed him onto his back, and Tommaso let him. He licked his lips and watched Tim pull his boxers off, grabbing the bottle of lube that Tommaso had started keeping on his bedside table, in the event that he and Tim ended up there for the night. 

Tommaso wondered if he’d been hoping for this. Hoping to let Tim into his home, into his space. He kind of liked that thought. 

Tim spread some lube on his fingers and Tommaso laid back and watched. Tim wasn’t much of an exhibitionist, but Tommaso had mentioned last week how much he liked watching Tim, so Tim had been making an effort to show off for him. It was very appreciated. Tim reached behind himself and Tommaso could tell when he started pressing one finger in, working himself open slowly. He sighed and Tommaso smiled. 

“You look beautiful.”

Tim laughed. 

“I’m fingering myself and there’s a documentary about birds in the rainforest on behind me. Not sure this is my peak.”

“Doesn’t mean you’re not still beautiful.”

Tim wouldn’t look him in the eye, smiling too much to do so, and Tommaso reached out and patted him on the thigh. 

“Turn around. Let me see.”

The blush coloring Tim’s cheeks spread to the tips of his ears and his chest, but he did as he was told, turning until his back was facing Tommaso, and he still laid there and watched as Tim worked a second finger into himself, and he heard Tim’s voice get a little higher in a sweet gasp. Tim was thorough, his long fingers scissoring and stretching, and Tommaso licked his lips. 

“Come here.”

Tim looked over his shoulder. 

“What do you wanna do to me?”

“I want you to ride my face before you ride my cock.”

Tim leaned down, hiding his face on the mattress and whining. Tommaso laughed and reached out, grabbing Tim’s hips and pulling him to where he wanted him. 

“Getting embarrassed?”

“Yes.”

Tommaso laughed again and Tim, though embarrassed, let Tommaso position him as he pleased, until Tim was straddling his face. Tommaso leaned forward and licked one long stripe over Tim’s hole, then did that again, and again, before pressing his lips fully to the rim and sucking. He could taste the lube and Tim and he groaned, gasping against Tim when he felt lips on his cock. He pulled away and smacked Tim’s ass. 

“Didn’t-fuck-give you permission for that-”

Tim pulled off and looked back at him.    
“Don’t really have anything else to do down here-”

Tommaso pinched Tim’s thigh. 

“Smartass.”

Tim grinned and leaned back down, sucking on Tommaso’s cock and Tommaso wasn’t one to be outdone; he spread Tim open and licked at his hole, pressing the tip of his tongue in until he could slide the muscle further inside. 

“Oh- _ fuck _ -”

Tim had stopped and Tommaso shut his eyes and licked harder inside of him, still sucking on the rim. He didn’t mind being more active than he’d planned on being, and then Tim was sitting up, putting more pressure on Tommaso’s face, and it occurred to Tommaso that he was riding his tongue, just like Tommaso had asked him to do. Tim started rocking his hips, pushing back onto Tommaso’s mouth, and Tommaso moaned, shoving his tongue deeper. 

“Mmnn-Tommaso-nn-are-are you-gonna make me come?”

Tommaso pulled his mouth away to bite at the meat of Tim’s ass, and Tim damn near squealed. 

“Mm-’maso, don’t-”

Tommaso did it again and wrapped his arms around Tim’s hips, keeping him in place while pushing his tongue back into him. He was ever-increasingly happy that they weren’t using protection. Not that Tommaso had anything against safe sex practices, but he wanted this. He wanted this with Tim. 

He wanted a lot with Tim. 

Some realizations hit you in the weirdest situations. 

“I’m- _ please _ -”

There was a certain tone that Tim’s voice took on when he was close to coming, and Tommaso wrapped his fingers around Tim’s cock, pumping it until he heard Tim’s breath hitching above him, and then his ass was tightening around his tongue, and he felt warm come on his fingers. Tim all but collapsed on the bed, twitching and shivering and Tommaso brought his hand up to his mouth, cleaning it off. He wouldn’t tell Tim, but he’d only ever tasted one other man’s come. 

Maybe he  _ should  _ tell Tim these things. 

He watched as Tim collected himself, his face and chest flushed, moving to straddle Tommaso’s legs-he was shaky, but he still lowered himself onto Tommaso’s still-hard cock. Tommaso groaned, long and low and rough and Tim was so, so wet.

“I want-wanna make you come too-please-can I make you-”

“Shh, shh-of course you can, baby-such-such a good boy, wanting to make me feel good-”

Tommaso held his hand out for Tim and Tim took it, sucking his fingers back into his mouth while he lifted and lowered his hips, bouncing somewhat gracefully on Tommaso’s lap. Tommaso really loved this, watching Tim as he worked himself over, his eyes shut in concentration, his cute lips tight around Tommaso’s fingers. He was moaning and whimpering and Tommaso thrusted up, trying to finish inside of Tim. He felt Tim clenching around him, and he moved his free hand to Tim’s waist, forcing him down harder. 

“Fuck-fuckfuck-fuck I’m gonna come-I’m gonna-oh-fuck-baby, just-just a little more-oh fuck-nnn-”

Tommaso hooked his fingers in Tim’s cheek and pulled him down, wrapping his arms around him and holding him tight as he fucked up into him, growling as he came. Tim whined sweetly, squeezing Tommaso with his thighs. Tommaso closed his eyes, grunting and letting out a whimper when his cock finished twitching, finished pumping Tim full. He let his cock go soft and only then did he pull out, using his free hand to push his come back inside of Tim’s loose, well-fucked hole. 

They laid there for a long while, Tim shivering in Tommaso’s arms, Tommaso staring up at the ceiling and blinking away tears.    
He wasn’t going to mess this up. He wasn’t going to mess this up. He wasn’t going to mess this up. He didn’t want to-he wanted Tim to stay here with him and to hold him and Tommaso didn’t ever cry. Why was he crying?

And then Tim was kissing his cheek, smoothing a big hand over Tommaso’s scalp-

“Are you okay? Are you-are you hurting, or-”

Tim was staring at him, his eyes...they were so beautiful-and concerned and honest and Tommaso shook his head. 

“No.”

“Overwhelmed?”

Tommaso wondered if that was it. Maybe he was just overwhelmed, by sensation and feeling and he looked at Tim, at the way the lines on his face were emphasized by worry. 

“Yes.”

Tim laid next to him and rested his forehead against Tommaso’s temple. 

“I’m sorry.”   
“Don’t-don’t be-not your fault.”

Tim kissed him on the cheek. 

“What’s going on?”

Tommaso didn’t know how to answer that. He thought for a moment. 

“I was with Johnny for a long time.”

“Gargano?”

“Yeah.”   
“Oh-I know, I think you two were hooked up when we first met-before I came to NXT.”

“We were. Uh-we were together for-a couple of years before NXT. Lived together for most of it. We were-in love.”

Tim’s voice was again that sort of quiet and pillow-soft that it got when they were like this together. 

“What happened?”

He sounded younger when they were like this. Less hardened. His sharp edges rounded off. Tommaso hoped he was like that, too, to Tim.

“Things fell apart. I lost sight of him-he wanted something else. A family, apparently.”

“You didn’t?”

“I wanted glory. I wanted focus. I...wanted him, but not as much as I used to.”

Tim asked questions but he didn’t question Tommaso; he didn’t ask him why they had so suddenly started talking about this.

“Do you still-are you still in love with him?”

Tommaso thought about the past year. About the final beat, about what he’d filled the time with, about meeting Tim again and the problems he had with him and how those were squarely in the past. 

How he hadn’t thought much about Johnny when Tim was around.

“No.”

“I...I haven’t ever...really been with anyone like that. Ringkampf-”

Tim’s voice was smoke in summer and Tommaso wanted to breathe it in.

Tim didn’t talk about Ringkampf a lot. 

“-we were...Walter, Axel, and I-we had-something. We were together-it wasn’t just in the ring. I loved them-I do love them, but ever since they left me-it wasn’t the same.”

Tommaso couldn’t understand why anyone would leave Tim. He was suddenly happy that he made the choice that first morning to stay.

“It was never committed, I had a few other people-but...I don’t mind if you still-think about him, or-miss him. You’re allowed to miss him.”

Tommaso’s breath hitched in a way he was very unused to. He felt a wetness in his throat, stinging and his stomach tightened. 

He hadn’t ever told anyone about any of this, and he was pretty sure Tim just knocked down a wall in his brain with that. He was allowed to miss Johnny. He was allowed to love him and miss loving him. It didn’t mean he was still in love with him. It didn’t mean he wanted it back-wanted what had ended as an unhealthy relationship back, it was okay. Tim’s arms were around him, and pulling him close, until Tim was on his back and Tommaso was laying his head on Tim’s chest, crying quietly against it. 

He didn’t offer words of comfort and Tommaso didn’t need them. All Tim did was hold him, petting over his scalp and the sparse hair there, keeping Tommaso close. Even when he was with Johnny, fully and deeply with him, he rarely let himself be held like this, loved like this, in need of help like this. His first neck injury was the only time he could think of. Tommaso wasn’t sure he knew how to cry. 

The tears subsided after a few minutes, and Tommaso sniffled, and thought about the evening. Tim had been really worried, in his own subtle way, about Tommaso and his neck. He’d taken care of him. He’d...taken care of him. He hadn’t questioned Tommaso or degraded him. All Tim had done was treat him kindly and thoughtfully, and if they’d known each other longer, he would say lovingly. 

Maybe it was lovingly. That could come before any saying of it.

Tommaso looked up at Tim, and Tim smiled at him. It was small and sweet and his dimple was showing and Tommaso was breathless. 

“Do you want to go to dinner?”

Tim laughed.

“Not right this second, no.”

“Not now-tomorrow. With me, on-a date.”

Tim leaned down and kissed Tommaso, snuggling into the pillow and keeping his arms around Tommaso, his body warm and comfortable.    
“Okay. I’d...I’d like to do that. A real date.”

Tim hid his face a little bit, trying to cover that he was smiling. 

“An official date.”

Tommaso grinned and it was that kind of smile where you really couldn’t stop it, where it pulled at his cheeks and he leaned forward, kissing Tim’s cheek and doing that over and over, and he laughed. He laughed and it was free and he was free. 

He was looking forward to their date.


End file.
